The 2016 Auburn Fall Classic took place at Plainsman Park this past weekend, with the Blue team sweeping the Orange in a three-game spout.
"All in all, we got better this week and this fall," Auburn head coach Butch Thompson said. "This team, from where we started on August 16 to now, got better and that’s really all we are focused on.”
Game One
Senior right-hander Gabe Klobosits struck out five with one run allowed in four innings as Blue defeated Orange 2-1 in the opening game. Bowen McGuffin plated the decisive run on a double in the fourth.
“I saw two good teams play good baseball,” Auburn head coach Butch Thompson said. “I saw 20 hard-hit balls and two starters do a good job. I saw relief pitching. Kyler Deese played great behind the plate. Sam Gillikin, a guy that has taken a year off from baseball, has come back with two missile-hit balls and a great catch at the end of the ballgame in left field. We still feel like we need to figure out who our closer is.”
Blake Logan hit a solo home run to give Blue a 1-0 lead in the second. He finished 2-for-3 at the plate. Jeremy Johnson added two hits for Blue.
Blue’s Daniel Sprinkle struck out four in 2.0 innings of relief with two hits and no runs. Junior College transfer Corey Herndon closed the game with a scoreless inning in the seventh.
Klobosits got the win surrendering five hits and one walk on 58 pitches.
“The first inning, the big thing for me was when I was ahead, it was easy for me,” Klobosits said. “In that second inning, I was behind a batter and they took advantage of it by scoring a run. You’ve got to give it to [Daniel] Sprinkle and Corey [Herndon]. They both came in and did their job and our offense produced some runs, so they picked me up in a sense.”
Orange found the scoreboard by way of a JJ Shaffer single in the second that scored JD Kubiszyn to make it 1-1. Sam Gillikin led the way at the plate going 2-for-3 with a single and a double.
Keegan Thompson took the loss surrendering seven hits and two earned runs in 4.2 innings with six strike outs on 63 pitches.
“This felt like a real game,” Thompson said. “They were in uniforms competing against one another in separate dugouts. We had a great crowd come out, so somebody got to practice closing the game out and for the game to end on a double play. We had a 2-1 baseball game in seven innings, a lot of hard hit balls, a lot of things going on with no errors, and that’s pleasing to our staff and to the fans that came out to watch us play tonight.”
Game Two
Freshman Conor Davis drew a bases-loaded walk in the bottom of the eighth inning to clinch the 2016 Auburn Fall Classic for the Blue team on Saturday.
Welby Malczewski earned the win surrendering two hits and zero runs in 1.1 innings.
“I think sitting back for a second day in a row, to feel the old adage of pitching and defense, and how much focus we have put on that in 13 months and to actually see it was great,” Auburn Head Coach Butch Thompson said. “There were game-changing defensive plays. Casey Mize and Davis Daniel came out in great starts and pounded the strike zone. With that great defense that was played on both sides, that’s why they carried a 0-0 score into the eighth and had to go extra innings basically.”
Sophomore Casey Mize got the start for Blue, delivering a game-high five strikeouts with no runs allowed in 4.2 innings. Cole Lipscomb pitched 1.2 scoreless innings in relief.
Luke Jarvis and Bowen McGuffin had two hits apiece for Blue. Jay Estes scored the winning run off of Andrew Mitchell’s walk. Senior Sam Gillikin led the way for the Orange with two hits.
“The freebie component has just not been there,” Thompson said. “The pitchers and defense have been just so solid. We had 24 hard-hit balls today in a baseball game that had no runs score, which is crazy. Nobody kicked the ball. The defense was so clean. There weren’t multiple walks in any inning that are ingredients to be big innings. We eliminated that and raised our game to a level of pitching and defense. I hope this is a sign to come, because this makes our program get better quickly.”
Orange starting pitcher freshman Davis Daniel surrendered only four hits in 5.0 innings with no runs and no walks on 64 pitches. Junior Calvin Coker took the loss allowing the game’s lone run and three hits in 2.0 innings.
Game Three
Junior outfielder Bowen McGuffin homered and three Blue pitchers combined to shutout Orange 6-0 and sweep the 2016 Auburn Fall Classic at Plainsman Park.
“Today was the culmination of several different things – it’s the end of the fall and it’s the end of the ‘Classic’ series. I thought the guys played hard,” Auburn head coach Butch Thompson said. “It’s really neat once you create this game environment and you see guys step up.
“We had that on the mound and in the left side of our defense. I thought Luke Jarvis and Josh Anthony played tremendous defense. Sam Gillikin, after not playing a year of baseball, all his stars aligned for this series. Bowen McGuffin hit a big home run. It’s good to see some guys step up and play really well. All in all, we got better this week and this fall. This team, from where we started on August 16 to now, got better and that’s really all we are focused on.”
McGuffin’s homer opened the scoring in the fourth inning and was the first hit allowed by orange starter Ryan Watson. He was the first of three consecutive batters to reach against the freshman Watson and ultimately chase him from the game.
Watson struck out three with three walks and two runs allowed on two hits. He was charged with the loss.
Christian Camacho (W, 1-0) started for Blue and scattered three hits with two strikeouts in 3.0 innings. Elliott Anderson (2.0 IP, 3 H, 0 R) and Joe Gahm (2.0 IP, 2 H, 0 R) finished the shutout.
Blue added two more in the fifth on a bases-loaded walk to freshman Conor Davis and a RBI groundout from junior outfielder Jonah Todd for a 4-0 lead.
Orange’s best opportunity was in the fifth when it loaded the bases with one out against Blue reliever Anderson. Orange used a leadoff walk to JJ Shaffer followed by singles from Damon Haecker and Daniel Robert to load it up, but couldn’t push anything across.
Robert finished the day 3-for-4 with a double and pitched a scoreless seventh with two strikeouts. Gillikin added a hit in the seventh to give him five for the weekend.
Jonathan Foster had two hits including a double for Orange.
Blue tacked on the final two runs for the 6-0 lead in the sixth when Jeremy Johnson’s slide beat a relay throw home following a double from Jay Estes and a wild pitch by Orange reliever Grant Warner allowed Estes to come in and score.
Johnson and Estes (double) both scored twice with a stolen base apiece. Todd and Will Holland each recorded a stolen base.
Five relievers followed Watson on the mound for Orange.
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